The Calling
by gaara king of the sand
Summary: A terrible storm ravaged most of the world, killing around 90% of the population. Now we seek a New Home on a new Island but the storm of purple clouds is always there ready to slowly kill anyone who stayed in it for too long. We will Survive but soon we shell find it's not going to be as easy as moving to a New Island because for whatever reason Trouble seems to keep finding us
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I in no way own Fortnite... Fortnite is Owned by Epic Games Studios. I Gain No Money in the Creation of this Story.

This Story is Co-Written by Me and quesopopcorn and Directed by Me Gaara King of the Sand and is Beta Read together by the Two of Us

Special Thanks goes to Quesopopcorn for being a Big Help in the Creation of this Story they helped me by Writing most of this with many Ideas for this Story made by me without them this Story would not see the Light of Day

So without farther Delay Please Enjoy the Story.

Prologue:

Many years ago, a terrible storm ravaged most of the world, killing around 90% of the population. This storm was a mass of purple clouds that were like poison, slowly killing anyone who stayed in it for too long. The storm also spawned terrible zombie-like creatures, called husks. They destroyed everything in their path, reducing once mighty cities into piles of stone and metal. There were a few groups of people living in husk-infested area, protecting others and themselves from the storm by inventing storm shield generators. This device would create a barrier that held back the storm, but the survivors would still have to protect it from the husks. One military-based group realized that they couldn't protect everyone from the continuous attack of husks and decided the best way to survive was to find a new place to live. After stumbling upon a large island in the Pacific, they made a plan to relocate.

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	2. Lift-Off

Chapter 1: Lift-Off

Stonewood Base, the safest place in the whole world. At least it was the safest place. Now, the husks are closing in and we needed to leave this island/base, and go to the next safest place. All 40 of the buses were lined up, ready to fly off to a better tomorrow. I know it sounds cheesy, but the future is all we've thinking about since we found that new island. I should probably introduce myself.

My name's Ramirez, and I was, or maybe I still am the commander of section of the military focused on protecting people from the storm. What country is this military from you may ask? Sorry, that's highly classified.

The point is, about a month ago, our husk problem started getting out of hand. More powerful ones, we call Brutes started spawning, and frankly our technology hasn't advanced enough to fight back. So, we decided to move our group of Survivors to a safe place. I personally think it's a little chicken of us, but many of my friends are in this group, and I don't want them to get hurt too. As I mentioned before, we have 40 busses that will take us to a safe island, with no creatures or crazy monsters.

We have a lot of buses because of what I'm most proud of: all the people we've rescued. At first there were just about a few Dozen of us, but with our military experience, were able to save around 2,000 people, including children, teens, adults, the elderly, and everyone from all walks of life. So as I helped a small group of people onto Bus 7, I couldn't help but smile a little, even though we were fighting for survival. Another cool fact about these buses is that they can fly. Not like planes, but like a hot air balloon.

My friend, Lars, built all of them with the help of our Constructors, with nothing but some scrap metal and wheels. He also designed these robots to fly the buses, because the island will take a couple days to get to, and the speeds of the buses aren't that fast. I walked back in the bunker and saw Lars fiddling with the controller to the new storm shield generator. Parts of it were loaded up on the backs of all the buses, and we were going to put it together once we got to the island.

"Ramirez, got all these buses loaded up?"

"Yep. Lars, gotta admit that these buses are awesome."

"Probably my best work. You got the rations too?"

"That too. These seeds are gonna kick start the food supply."

"All natural, just the way it should be."

I went back outside to watch a couple of the last buses start to float upwards, when the bunker alarm went off. The pavement turned red with the lights and I ran towards the bunker.

"Lars, what's going on?"

"One of the shield beacons broke! The husks are getting in!"

I grabbed my walkie-talkie and a scar off the wall.

"Everybody on the ground grab a weapon! Sweep the bunker for any people left! Watch out for husks!"

I thought that everyone should have left by now, a couple of us stayed back to check on the explosives we rigged the Island with, they would kill the husks that got on here. I wasn't too worried because everyone staying back were either specially trained or a robot, so I decided to quickly check some of the areas where I thought people would be. I was just about to get onto the last bus when I heard a little girl cry out,

"Somebody help!"

I followed her voice and found the girl curled up under some huge boxes, while husks furiously smashed at them.

"Hey creeps! Pick on someone who has a gun!"

All the husks turned to me, and I went at them with my scar. It was one to ten. They never stood a chance. I quickly grabbed the girl and ran outside, while Lars shouted from the last bus.

"Hurry up! Everyone else is on here!"

I leaped on the bus just as another group of husks spawned right outside. Once the bus was high in the air, I grabbed the detonator and covered the girl's ears. I watched as what once was home be turned into a smoldering mass of rubble. I felt some tears coming on, so I talked to the girl before I would start crying.

"Hey there. What's your name?"

"Mandy," she sniffed.

"Do you know where your parents are?"

"I was following them to the bus but I got lost."

I felt really bad for the girl. She couldn't have been more than 8, and here she was, alone on a bus with a bunch of stone-faced military guys and girls. And me. I went over to my pre-packed luggage and took out the one thing that I would remember the island by: my old teddy bear, Cuddles.

Even though it had been years since I got it, when I was just a kid, the pink fur and smiling mouth comforted me. Now, someone else needed comfort only a teddy bear could give.

"Here you go. Cuddles kept me company when I was a kid, like you."

Mandy slowly looked up and smiled.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Now get some sleep, and I'll help find your parents when we are at our new Home."

Mandy's smile continued as she fell asleep, and I noticed that everyone else was getting tired too. I walked up to the driver bot and tapped a few buttons.

"Estimated time of arrival: 76 hours." said it's computerized voice. I walked to the back of the bus, and found a seat with no one on it. I pushed some luggage out of the way, and leaned my head against the window, watching the stars slowly drift by. The storm's signature purple clouds also mixed in the sky, reminding me of the uncertain future ahead. Still, through all the fear, sadness, and worry, I found a way to sleep, just as the moon rose above the fleet of buses, flying to our new home.

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	3. Still and Silent

I woke up at 5:30, or 05:30 as my watch read. Even though I was extremely tired, old habits die hard, especially when you had trained to wake up early to fight husks. After freshening up in the bathroom attached to the very back of the bus, I went to check on Mandy. She was curled up next to the window, still holding on to Cuddles. I went back to my seat and heard the sounds of the bus waking up. I looked out the window and as the sun rose, it felt amazing. Even though we had the storm shield at Stonewood, you could never see the sun. It had been many years since I felt warmth like this, and once I saw everyone was awake, I opened all the windows.

A cool breeze gave the bus ventilation, but it wasn't the stark coldness of the storm we were all used to. Mandy stuck her arm out the window, and it looked like she didn't know what was happening. Not surprising, since most children that we rescued had been hiding in a dark basement or house before.

There wasn't much to do on the bus, except talk and stare at the bright blue sky. The day passed quickly, and the next day wasn't very different. It wasn't until the third day when something exciting finally happened.

We had finally reached the island. Everyone gathered to the windows on the right side, and we just stare at it for a long time. It was so green, and we had gone lower to the island, so we could see the waves crashing into the huge cliffs. One corner of the island looked like a swamp, and there was a lake near the center.

On the side opposite to the swamp, mountains ran in a jagged line, creating valleys and large hills. Finally, the part of the island that got all my attention was the large wooded area. The dark greens popped out against the light grass, and the greens seemed to fade into the brown trunks and the dark shadows. It was truly amazing.

As we got closer to the island, I noticed that a couple of buses had already landed. In the middle of the island there was a large, flat area with no trees, the perfect spot to land.

The bus came to a slow stop, lined up perfectly with all the other buses. As the robotic driver opened the doors, I could hear everyone cheering, and some crying tears of joy. The grass welcomed us as we all stepped out, and I had to hold Mandy's hand because she was so scared. Almost immediately, two parents and a teenage girl came running over to Mandy and began hugging her.

"Mandy!" the parents cried. The older girl walked up to me, holding her sister in an embrace.

"Thank you so much for finding her."

As they walked off, Mandy turned around, smiled, and waved to me. I waved back and went to join my friends, ecstatic about what we had just done.

 _A few hours later…_

After a speech given by yours truly and Jonesy, my second in command, we went with Lars to install some more shield beacons around the entire island. They would all connect (not literally) to a much larger and more power storm shield generator, as preparation for if the storm ever comes.

I know that putting them around the whole island sounds like it would take a long time, but Lars said that we could use the buses again, and we want everyone to be protected from the storm.

After many hours of scouting out the edges of the island, we went back to the open area to start our food supply. One long meeting later, it was decided that the farms (or "food production facilities" as everyone else called it) would be located at the northern and southern parts of the island.

A couple hundred people volunteered to help start the crops up, so everyone is starting to spread out a lot more across the island. At night, I went back to the area where the buses landed, to make camp.

We brought port-a-tents, an invention of Lars. Basically all you do is just throw one onto the ground and out pops a tent. I see a lot of potential in that for building houses, but Lars says it's not that advanced yet, so we'll still have to build houses by hand. It's not bad, nothing like some manual labor to boost morale, as we used to say.

It hasn't even been a full day yet, and people are already starting to name places here. I've heard a lot of people wanting to call the island "Fortnight", but they want to spell it "Fortnite". It's because all the tents together look like a bunch of forts, and the darkness of the storm we survived. I think the last part is a bit too sentimental, but who am I to judge.

I laid down in my tent, covered with a small blanket from my luggage, and thought about recent events. _I can't believe we already named the island. Still, Fortnite is a catchy name. Strange, but catchy. Will we name different parts of the island too? I wonder what we'll name this part. There's not that many interesting things about it we could name it after, but it sure is really dusty here…_

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	4. Calm before the Storm

The next couple of weeks went by fast, but they were the most perfect three weeks ever. The weather was always sunny and amazing, and even the nights were warm and filled with stars. It rained once, but the gentle drops were cool and refreshing. Speaking of storms, the storm shield was a success. We all held our breaths watching the purple clouds roll in, but the storm never came through.

Now, the only thing that I worry about is starting new communities. A couple small towns have already popped up, most of them being closer to the place where the buses landed. The farms are starting to get some names too. The south one is being called Fatal Fields because apparently some nightshade was found there, which is fatal.

We removed the plants, but the name stuck. The northern one is being called Anarchy Acres, because, and I'm quoting this from the families that live there, "These kids get so wild and loud, it's always anarchy up here."

We also built some factories near the buses, they mainly produce hammers and pickaxes for gathering wood and stone. Everything was running smoothly, no fights, problems, or anything. That was why none of us expected what happened later. It was another sunny day, and the storm was set to come. We were all in the middle of the island for another public meeting, about starting the first large town or city.

We agreed that it would have the first towers on the island and it would be located at the empty land across the river, west of the buses. Now, we just needed to see what everyone else thought about it. With the pickaxes and their faster material harvesting rate, we had a lot more wood and brick to start building.

Plus, Lars agreed that we wouldn't have that much of a use for the buses, so he scrapped a couple for the metal. There were a lot of eager people and some families that wanted to have a say in the new city-town, and possibly live in it.

Everyone except for a few workers in the factories were standing or sitting in the grass, waiting for the next speaker to start talking, when those familiar purple clouds rolled in. No one expected no different, the clouds would just bounce back.

Lars performed routine maintenance on the generator and beacons yesterday, and was even training some of the teenagers. Natasha started to stand in front of everyone, and I smiled. I was surprised to see that she had cut her hair, it was now a pointy, almost like a buzz cut style. She was one of the best fighters, but also the most cheerful, and I was proud to say that we were training partners back in boot camp.

Now that I'm mentioning some more people that are on the "team", I guess I should mention everyone. You already know Nat/Natasha, but here's some more info on Lars and Jonesy. Lars is a scientist and engineer, and a pretty brilliant one if I may add. He's kinda a hippie, but he's embraced all the technology that's come his way.

Scratch that, he is a hippie. Jonesy is, as I stated before, my second in command. We met in middle school, and he was always the funny, slightly distraught, but very nice guy. We were great friends, and both signed up for the military boot camp together.

There's Tyrone, Nat's brother. He goes by the nickname Spitfire, because he used to handle all the rapid-fire weapons, including his beloved minigun.

Martha and Jasmine are the medics/architects, but Jasmine is secretly (well it's not a secret from me because I'm the one who helped her get training) trained in espionage/assassination type things, and all that fun stuff.

Then there's Juan and Craig. Juan is the quiet one who likes brooding and pretending he's thinking about deep things, even though it's obvious he just likes talking to people. He's not just the drama queen though, he's also great with explosives.

Craig is another medic, and Jasmine's boyfriend. Jasmine is another one of my closer friends, so I was kinda protective and suspicious when she started dating Craig, but he's a good person, with a killer sense of humor.

No wonder he and Jonesy get along so well. that's none of my business. Anyways, that's the gang. We've known each other and been together since before boot camp, when we were all assigned to the same class. As different as our roles are, we've never had any arguments, and got along perfectly.

 _Meanwhile…_

With everyone distracted by the speech, it would be easy for him to experiment with the generator. He had already drew up a plan for how to modify the generator, but he had never gotten the chance to test it.

All the calculations should have been correct, so he carefully started disassembling the control panel. A few snapped wires and new lasers later, it was done. He put the control panel on, and brought the generator back to life.

The machine hummed, and the lights glowed a dark purple. After shutting off for a second, the lights resumed their normal blue glow. _Perfect,_ he thought. He could tell the storm energy, as he called it, was already flowing through all the wires, ready to power the laser.

Even though it would take a few years, it was worth the wait. As he slipped into one of the tents nearby, he noticed that the storm was coming in.

He remembered that the generator would need an hour before being able to actually work as a storm shield, but everything he had worked on for the past three months had lead up to this. He couldn't let this stop his advancements. "This is for science," he whispered aloud before disappearing into a tent, "For science _"_

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	5. Gold and Diamonds

At first the clouds seemed to be kept at bay, but I thought I saw them getting closer.

"Uh Jonesy, do those clouds look like they're moving past the shield?"

"What the…" he trailed off. Indeed, the shield had somehow turned off, and now we were all at risk of getting caught in the storm.

"Everybody get in a building!" Lars called out. The crowd quickly dissolved, and we rushed to one of the large tents used for storage. The storm couldn't get through houses or structures with no windows, so we ducked into the tent just as the air filled with lightning and purple fog. Even though it didn't directly affect the health of people, husks and lightning could appear at any place in the storm. Better to be inside something, no matter how weak it is. We waited and waited, scared to open the flaps of the tent once the storm passed.

 _A little less than an hour later_

Everything was calm, but uneasy. The wind had trashed all the smaller tents that weren't securely attached to ground. Leaves from naked trees littered the ground, as the remains of bushes did too. One by one, some people slowly emerged from other large tents.

"There's people down by the factory!" someone yelled. We all turned, and there in the grass were three people, collapsed. I rushed over to the nearest person, who I realized was Mandy's father. He was breathing, but his pulse was very weak. Martha and Jonesy got some stretchers from the storage tent, and we carried the three into the medical tent. An hour later and all the patients were sitting up, but they were still plagued by coughing fits. We asked them what had happened, and the answer was surprising.

"I heard someone yelling outside the factory, so I came out to see what was wrong. When I ran out the door, the storm closed in. I couldn't breathe and I felt like I was drowning, then I blacked out." Mandy's father had said.

"Lars, what do you think is going on?" I asked.

"Based on all the stories, I'd say the storm has grown stronger. Now it's fatal to even stand in."

"Well, what about the shield generator?"

"I checked it, and it just shut off. Probably short circuited or low power…"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that the shield generator couldn't last too long without getting fried. It's been what, almost a month now? So, the generator needs to be turned off every month before it breaks again."

"What are we supposed to do then?" At this point I was about to burst with frustration. _If we have to turn the generator off, what happens if the storm comes in? We know now that we can't just stand in the storm or else it might kill us, so are we just going to spend a whole week or month in our tents?_ I was about to leave when Lars coughed quietly.

"Well….ahem, I may have found a way to solve that problem…"

"What? What is it?"

"You remember how we had a massive amount of Blu Glow back at the base? Well, I did a bit of experimenting and I found that it can be distilled into this blue liquid-gel thing that repels the storm's effects."

"How did you test it?"

"A lot of trial and error, I also may have forgot to mention that I knew the storm was doing damage to people before we left…but at least we know now. Heh…" I didn't know wether to laugh or be mad. I decided on standing there with a stupid look on my face.

"How many of these… "storm shield potions" do you have?"

"I think that 'shield potions' has a better ring to it. But back on topic, I've created about a month's worth of potions. Two regular-sized ones will protect an adult for a week, but I recommend kids take the mini ones."

"Why?"

"Well, I had to use a base for the potions, since it was an un-drinkable gel at first, and the only thing I had around at the time was some alcohol. And as far as I know, it's the only liquid that works. So when and if we hand them out, we need to monitor any addictions. But don't worry, I made the mini ones with juice added in. It's less potent than the regular ones, but it'll work for the kids."

"Well let's start handing them out." Martha chimed in. As we were rummaging through the box of potions, Jonesey came up to me.

"Hey. I saw that you were kinda stressed back there."

"I guess that's the right word. On one hand I'm happy that Lars found a way to help everyone, but on the other hand I'm angry that he didn't say something sooner. It could have helped us." _Sigh_ "I feel like I've only been thinking about everyone these days. It's always everyone this, everyone that, what's the best for everyone." I noticed that he was kinda staring at me. "Sorry, I'm just stressed."

"I get it, being a commander of anything is hard. Just know that you're doing really well."

"Thanks." I quickly made sure I wasn't blushing. It's not like we were, you know, involved or anything, but I thought that he was a nice guy. I had a little crush, but it's not like I genuinely thought about it happening. We rummaged in silence for a few minutes until he spoke up again.

"Ramirez?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to...if you're not doing anything else after we hand the potions out…um, go check on the factories? Not that they need to be checked on, I guess just safety first? I'm sure they're safe, but they might need…" he trailed off. _Oh god. Is he asking me out? Is it just me overreacting? Does he like me? Not that I like him. Do I? Oh no! He stopped talking! What do I say!?_

"Are you-"

"Yes. I know it might be a bad time, and if you said no it would be fine, but I was still wondering." Awkward silence crept in. _Fudge it. I'm going for this._

"I'll go out with you." Jonesy looked like I had just told him that I was a lizard.

"Awesome! I mean cool. It's cool. So do you want to go somewhere like the lake?"

"I thought we were going to check the factories."

"Oh…"

"I was kidding. Sure, the lake is great." I looked at everyone else in the tent. No one else had noticed except for Martha who smiled, as if to say _Go on!_ I smiled back, and walked out with Jonesy _. I guess all clouds really do have a silver lining._

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	6. Jewels behind the Throne

We did it. We finally did it. After many months, the city has been built. The grand towers stand tall, almost reaching the mountains. The buildings may be empty, but the potential for them is overflowing. Some of them aren't finished yet, but 90% of the city is, so I'd say it's mostly finished.

There's also a new town, northeast of the buses, called Tomato Town. It used to be a couple families farming vegetables, with the main crop being tomatoes. But after Lars started giving out some brick and metal, the first restaurant was built there: Uncle Pete's Pizza, named after Peter, one of the chefs back at Stonewood. They serve the best pizza, along with spaghetti. The only questionable thing about it is the giant tomato head on top of the restaurant, which is a bit creepy, but it's the mascot, so whatever works.

Back to the new city. It's name will be Tilted Towers because of, you know, the towers, and the fact that since it was built close to the lake, the ground was kind of marshy. So, the buildings tilted a bit, but once the concrete was poured over the land they readjusted themselves. I've noticed that all of the new places here have meaning behind their names, and all start with the same letters, which I like.

Adding to the list of more new upgrades, we've gotten rid of all the storage tents and replaced them with giant storage depots. Some new factories and houses also popped up, there's a large cluster of them south of the depots. We all agreed that if we build a house, or at least do majority of the planning or construction, then it's ours.

Jonesy and I got houses near each other, but we haven't talked about moving in together yet, even though we're official. I've already settled on a nice house that's going to have some blue siding on it, with a huge basement for...well, that's also classified. But I can guarantee it's not illegal and that there's going to be a gaming/tv room somewhere. We may all be really stressed out, but at least we can have entertainment.

Lars trained some people in installing the electronics and tuning the tvs into some of the old channels, and rumor has it that they've been working on a device of some sort that will track or monitor the storm. The storm. Two words we've all been dreading to hear. The shield potions protect us, but the fear still lingers.

So far there haven't been any reports of husks or Brutes of any kind, but the lightning has struck some small patches of land, turning them an odd shade of purple. Martha and Jasmine study the areas any chance they are there, they're convinced that something isn't right. Personally, the only thing that isn't right is how eerie the barren space with dead trees is, with huge stones that definitely weren't there before. But if the storm can create monsters and purple clouds with huge lighting bolts, then I'm sure that some new rocks aren't a big deal.

It was sprinkling rain a bit when I got to my house, but it was almost complete, so I decided to work on it. I had already started planning out all the rooms, there would be a large living room to the left, kitchen and dining room on the right, with a bathroom tucked away by the living room. Upstairs there would be two rooms, one could be a bedroom, but the other I'll probably just use for personal storage. The upstairs hallway is really wide, so I'll probably make an open office by the windows.

I got bored after an hour of choosing flooring (who wouldn't), so I decided to help Jonesy, who I just noticed was out putting a roof over his house. By the time I walked outside, the rain had stopped, and the clouds slowly retreated from the sky. His house was across from mine, a one-story house that was small, but very cozy and nice for one person. He said that we should still visit each other a lot, even though his house still needed a lot of work. I saw him balancing on one of the walls, laying out some wood planks for the roof support. I grabbed a plank, climbed up the ladder, and scooched next to him

"Hey you," he smiled.

"Hey. What were you doing in the rain all alone?"

"Well, I want to finish my house. Sharing a tent with Craig isn't that fun anymore, and the more houses here, the sooner this place can become a neighborhood and get a name."

"You like naming the locations?"

"Yeah. Who do you think came up with the name Tilted Towers? It wasn't the stuffy old guys on the 'naming committee'."

"Of course. Only a genius could have made that name…" He gave me a little shove and we went back to laying down more wood. The sun was starting to set as we both climbed down the ladder, after hours of work.

"Ready to go back?"

"To the tents? No way!" he laughed, "I'm going to try sleeping under the sky tonight. Stargazing, campfire, all that. Care to join?"

"Sure. I just have to check on the depots first."

"Ramirez, Ramirez. Always working and being serious."

"I'm still going! Just need to take care of business."

"Business. Right. Are you still getting paid?"

"Paid? We don't even have money yet. I work for myself. A free-range employee." We both laughed and he gathered up his tools and tool box.

"See you later?"

"Still a yes…"

"Ok, I'll double the s'mores. Meet me at the red depot." We kissed goodnight and parted ways. The navy sky was speckled with stars, while a crescent moon was beginning to rise. I took my time walking back, and decided to stroll by the lake. As it came into view, I passed by one of the areas that lightning hit. I heard hissing sound coming from it, and saw a silhouette standing there.

 _Probably just Jasmine or Martha getting a soil sample._ Just then, I saw something large appear from the back of the silhouette. Well, either one of them grew giant black wings, or that wasn't a person I saw.

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	7. Into the Night

A full moon spread its light across the land, filling her body with power. She rose from her cloud of smoke and spread her wings, wondering why she had been summoned again. It had been many millennia since she had walked this land.

She savored the moonlight, until she realized she was not alone. Summoning a swarm of bats, she expected them to attack whoever was behind her, but they just screeched and flew away.

"Sanctum...I should have known it was you." she hissed.

"Long time no see, sis. I'm surprised you forgot that I learned how to scare off your bats."

"I did not forget, I just did not know it was you. Do you know why we where summoned?"

"Beats me. The storm does what the storm wants." He disappeared and reappeared in a tree, and started to swing from it. She sighed and began to fly up in the air. She thought of herself as the mature one, while her brother was childlike.

They were some of the most powerful beings in theall the worlds, which meant they were the ones that got summoned to the island when the darkness was disturbed.

"Wait a second…" she whispered to herself as she saw lights in the distance. This island was uninhabited. Or was it? She flew up higher and saw figures near the lights. Humans. She landed back on the ground and noticed another person, who seemed to be running from them.

 _Can't have anyone know we're here yet,_ she thought as she whispered a death spell. Sanctum came down from the tree and watched the lights.

"I guess this is what we're here for." he said cheerfully. "This should be fun"

Dusk smiled. She likes humans, especially when they were running in terror.

 _Later…_

I ran back to the depots faster than I thought was humanly possible. By the time I reached the red depot, my heart was racing and it felt like I was being stabbed in the chest.

My heart felt like it was beating slower, and I was really tired for some reason. I fell to the ground and heard people start calling for someone.

Was it Jasmine? Everything started to get blurry, but I was able to make out another person running towards me. Jonesy. I tried to reach out and tell him what I had seen, but all I could do was sink lower to the ground and struggle to breathe.

I heard him yell something, and felt someone put me on a stretcher. Why was everything a dark purple? Was the storm back? They needed to get inside.

The dark purple started to fade into black, but it felt comfortable, and I needed to sleep. _You'll be ok...you have to be ok…_ Was I hearing things? It sounded like someone was crying. It was the last thing I heard before everything went dark.

I woke up to the whirring and beeping of a machine. I sat up in the bed I was in and surveyed my surroundings. It took awhile for everything to come into focus, but I realized that I was in the medical tent.

But why? Falling asleep on the ground shouldn't need medical attention...I think? I was about to close my eyes again, a curtain opened and Jasmine came in.

"You're ok!" she exclaimed.

"Wow, did I really sleep that long?"

"What do you mean?"

"I was just really tired, no need for you guys to put me in the medical tent."

"Ramirez...we thought that you were about to die. Two days ago you passed out near the depots and your heart almost stopped beating."

Now it was my turn to be surprised. I was dying? How did I almost die from running? A sharp pain went through my arm, and I finally noticed that I had an IV and some other machines that were hooked up to me.

"What happened to me?"

"We still don't know. You just collapsed on the ground. Jonesy called for help and when I got there, it looked like you were already gone. Let me go get the others…"

I laid back in the bed and tried to remember what happened leading up to this. _I was walking by…what was I walking by? Then I started running to the depots, got there, blacked out, and now I'm here. I just can't remember the one thing I walked by. It had to have been something pretty bad, or else I wouldn't have run._

Jasmine came back with Jonesy, Nat, and Martha. He immediately rushed over and put me in a huge hug. Nat almost crushed me with her hug, and to my relief, Martha's was very gentle.

"Are you ok? What happened? Do you remember anything?"

Voices came flying at me, just as I was about to tell them to slow down, Jasmine stepped in again.

"Woah, woah, she's not in great condition to be answering a bunch of questions. Jonesy, you can stay. Nat and Martha, you got to see her and make sure she's fine, so go help Tyrone and Craig!"

She ushered them out and mouthed _You're welcome._ Jonesy sat down next to me and sighed.

"What are Ty and Craig doing?"

"Well, a couple people up north reported some figures wandering in the woods, and they were patrolling the area to make sure that it wasn't husks."

"Are they creatures or just some random people?"

"That's the confusing part. The reports said that they looked like humans, but they had giant wings. If you ask me, that's the potions talking."

"No kidding."

"It's so great to see you're well, but I probably should go help them. It's about to rain, and you know how persistent Craig is."

"Have fun trying to convince them that nothing's wrong."

"I'll try. You'll get Jasmine to call me if anything happens, right?"

"Of course."

We kissed goodbye, and I sank back into the bed, ready to sleep again. Funny how talking is so tiring. But something was nagging me in the back of my mind. What did Jonesy say, something about people with wings? All of sudden, I got an extremely clear vision.

 _I was walking by the area that was struck by lightning and I saw people. No, those weren't people. They looked human, except for the wings of course. And the fangs._

 _Wait. I saw their faces. One was wearing a weird mask, and the other just had a creepy smile. They were both very pale, but the one without a mask had red all over her lips, like she was…no. I had to be going crazy. Those weren't vampires, where they?_

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	8. Out of the Dark

Halloween, my favorite time of the year. The candy, decorations, and especially the atmosphere makes the day seem like it's in a whole other world. Sadly, a recon mission to an island filled with bloodthirsty monsters can put a damper on any holiday. Myself, Jonesy, Nat, Tyrone, and Martha were all going back to Stonewood to scavenge for more metal because a bunch more places have been built around Fortnite. More on that later. Lars let us borrow one of the buses that hadn't been scrapped, and a robot to pilot us there. He even made some adjustments to the engine and added some thingies (I don't know what they are, I'm not an engineer or mechanic) so the trip will take an hour instead of days. We all piled onto the bus, along with some guns and explosives.

"There he goes again with that machine gun." sighed Nat as she pointed to Tyrone. "Sometimes I'll think that he'll find a nice girl, but then I see the way he looks at that gun."

To be fair, none of us have gotten to use our weapons in a while. It had been what, 6 or 7 months since we left Stonewood, so we all were looking at our guns longingly. The flight there was very quiet, the familiar sense of dread filled the bus as purple clouds began to choke out the sun, replacing the sunbeams with lightning. Stonewood came into view, and it somehow looked worse than when we last were there. The explosion hadn't completely destroyed the whole bunker, but the remains had joined the rest of the debris on the ground, thanks to the husks. Even from the air I could see them prowling the rubble, searching for who knows what. We finally landed, far away from the destruction, Juan started shaking as he prepared to throw a grenade. A horrible roar rose from the fog as a group of large figures slowly made their way to the husks.

"Are...are those the Brutes?" Martha nervously whispered.

I nodded and prepped my AR. She had never seen one before and only heard about them through stories from our sightings, but Brutes are never something you want to see in person, trust me on this one. They looked like the husks except a lot wider and taller, and they glowed a sickly shade of violet. Their bodies also had large cracks everywhere, spilling out something that looked like purple lava. They had this interesting habit of melting the husks when they got 'mad'. Yes, I said melting. The purple stuff flowing out of them was apparently some sort of acid that turned anything they touch into a bubbling puddle of whatever it used to be, except liquified. We snuck behind some rocks and prepared to launch a full-on assault, but Jonesy held up his hand.

"Wait. It looks like something's going on between the Brutes and husks."

"Let me zoom in," Juan said.

Did I mention that besides explosives he's also an excellent sniper? Well, now I'm mentioning it. He propped himself up on the side of the rock and looked in his scope. A few seconds later, he got back up.

"They're definitely not acting like the normal, destructive creatures they are. It almost looked like they were….talking."

"No way. I mean, their IQ isn't in the double digit numbers, how can they be smart enough to talk? Let me see."

I looked in the scope, and sure enough it seemed that there was a conversation going on out there. One Brute kept angrily grunting at some husks (they do everything angrily) while the others dug in the rubble. This went on for a while until one husk that was digging let out a high-pitched shriek. We all winced and covered our ears. I got back up, and all the Brutes were crowding around that one husk. It was holding something purple, in the shape of a cube.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Nat screamed, and I turned around. One of the husks found our hiding spot, and gave her a huge gash on her leg. We all fired blindly as the husks swarmed around the rocks. Somehow most of the bullets hit their target, but the Brutes had noticed and were now Sambling over to us. I quickly peeked from behind the rock and saw a narrow opening among the Brutes, leading to some metal-filled rubble.

"Somebody cover us!"

I grabbed Jonesy and ran towards the debris, dodging some of the husks' swipes. I heard the roar of a minigun, which meant that Ty had decided to cover us. By the time we made it to the metal, all monsters within a 20-foot radius were gone. Juan came over to help us carry the material, while Martha stayed back to help Nat. We finally got as much as we could carry, and not a moment too soon. Another wave had just appeared, and from the looks of it one minigun would barely make a dent. Nat and Martha were the last ones on the bus, and we finally lifted off. It took us all a moment to calm down, when we did Jonesy brought something out of his bag.

"We may have missed most of Halloween, but we can still celebrate getting back safely."

He was holding a bottle of shield potions and some glasses. We all took one, and toasted.

"Here's to a job well done."

"Here's to all being okay." Nat rolled her eyes.

"And here's to being together after another day." Martha said cheerfully.

"Cheers."

As everyone either got refills or started chatting, I laid on Jonesy's shoulder and thought about life back on Fortnite. Tilted Towers had finally been finished, along with many more new locations. The one I had been waiting the longest for was Dusty Depot, previously known as the place where the buses first landed. There was also Shifty Shafts, a couple tunnels that were a makeshift mine. Wailing Woods, Moisty Mire (the swamp), and Loot Lake are all self explanatory, but some newer ones like Lucky Landing, Salty Springs, Retail Row, Pleasant Park, Junk Junction, Snobby Shores, Lonely Lodge, and Flush Factory need some explanations. Lucky Landing is a very small Chinatown with lots of personality, Salty Springs is a neighborhood that Jonesy and I are living in, Retail Row is half houses and half stores, Pleasant Park is a bunch of houses surrounding a park, Junk Junction is where all the metal scraps are going to go, Snobby Shores is where all the 'higher end' houses are, Lonely Lodge is sort of a camping site, and Flush Factory….well, they make toilets. None of the other factories have names except for this one, which proves that some people never grow up. Oh, and how could I forget my favorite place: Greasy Grove. Like Tomato Town it's named after a restaurant, but this one has a mascot I love. Durr Burger's (that's the name of the restaurant) mascot is a burger with big eyes and a tongue just flopping out, giving the Durr part of the name. There's also a couple stores and houses there, but I still really like Durr Burger. Overall, I would say that we have made so much progress in not only buildings and towns, but with being able to cooperate and create all of this. I know this is getting cheesy, but it's true.

Despite the storm and everything else we've encountered, it feels like we can all live normal lives again, before all this. Each day has more challenges than the last, but we've always made it through. Keep calm, and carry on.

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	9. Take to the Sky

"Oh how pitiful these humans are...can't tell us apart…"

"Please. We should be happy that they're too stupid to do anything."

"He's right, this could work to our advantage."

"Yes, but I pity them…"

"Mother, you mustn't. Do the humans pity the animals and plants which they eat? No, so we must treat them as nothing but the food they are."

"Blood...I could go for some right now."

I woke up in a cold sweat. Who were those voices? What were they talking about? Were they talking about attacking people? Was I going crazy? There was a loud snore, and I was quickly brought back to reality. It was 6:30 in the morning, the sun was slowly rising in the sky. I was in my bed with Jonesy passed out next to me. It's been months since Stonewood and I still can't get a good night's rest…wait. We went back in October and it's what, May now? That's seven months plus the five we were here before, so that would be...a year. It's the first year on the island. Why does this sound important? I walked over to my calendar on the wall and checked the reminders.

Today:

First year on island! Bring party supplies

Check on Jasmine and Craig

How could I have forgotten all of this? I rushed downstairs to see if I had the party supplies, luckily I did. I checked my storm tracker to see if anything had happened to Craig and Jasmine. Side note, Lars finally developed the storm tracker, it predicts where the storm will hit first with over 99% accuracy. It also has an added feature of being able to text others who have a tracker too. I saw that Craig had posted about eight hours ago that they were at the hospital. Why did I need to check on them if they're both at work? Unless there's some emergency, but why do they need me? I'm not a doctor, the only medical help I'm qualified to give to with kids. There weren't any younger patients at the hospital….oh no. I just realized why I needed to check. I ran back up the stairs, almost tripped on a nightstand, and tried to wake up Jonesy.

"Jonesy. Wake up. Come on."

"Hmmm…"

"Jonesy! Get up!"

"Wha...what? What's wrong?"

"Craig. Jasmine. Hospital. Baby. Important!"

"I didn't get any of that…"

"Craig and Jasmine are at the hospital having a baby! We were supposed to meet them there over 8 hours ago! Let's go now!"

"What?! I'm not ready yet! You go first! I'll catch up!"

"You don't need to be ready, just be quick! I'll go, but don't be long!"

I ran out of the house, slammed the door a bit too hard, and started off to the hospital. We didn't have any cars or bikes yet, but all important places like grocery stores and hospitals were in walking distance of most neighborhoods. Or in this case, running distance. I made it in the doors, and rushed to the nurse at the front desk.

"I'm here to see…Craig...Jasmine…." I wheezed.

"Fifth floor, second door on the right." she replied.

Five flights of stairs? You have got to be kidding. As much as I wanted to collapse on one of the couches in the lobby and finish sleeping, I couldn't afford to be any later. So, I jogged up the stairs and cursed this place for having all these stories. I finally got to their room, and walked in while trying to act like my legs didn't want to fall off. Jasmine was in a bed holding a small bundle of blankets and chatting with Nat, while Craig was in a very deep conversation with Martha, Juan, and Ty. Jonesy had came through the door too, and everyone had looked up at us.

"There you guys are! We were all wondering if you'd be coming." Martha said.

"Sorry for arriving really late." Jonesy apologized.

"No problem, it's just great to have you all here. Come meet the newest member of the gang!" Craig led us to the bed.

Jasmine was beaming, and slowly opened her arms.

"Ramirez and Jonesy, meet Norah Rose Shan."

The first thing I saw was her smile. Her eyes were barely open, but she had a huge smile. I gently picked her up, and instantly got flooded with all this emotion. The first baby, the new generation. Sometimes I wondered why we were fighting against the storm, why we landed here and started new lives. This was why. I gave her back and quickly sat in a chair while trying to hide a tear. We stayed there for about an hour, until Martha reminded us all about the party. I felt bad for leaving Craig and Jasmine for a party, but they assured us that they'd rather be with Norah. We all walked back to our house where I forgot to decorate anything and had to quickly escort everyone to the partially finished basement to wait. After some streamers balloons, and a bit of cake, the party had started. Even Lars came by, but he was looking kind of stressed at first so I brought him over to the kitchen.

"Hey, are you ok? You look a bit stressed."

"Oh, I'm good. I've just been working some late nights."

"Making something new?"

"Not exactly."

"What is it? I can keep a secret if it is."

"Well, I wanted it to be a surprise, but as long as you don't tell anyone else then you can know." He leaned over and lowered his voice. "I'm working on making some vehicles."

"Really? That's great! Now we won't have to walk and run everywhere anymore."

"I don't exactly have everything figured out yet, so they won't be coming out anytime soon. For know I'm thinking of just some regular cars, with a built in storm tracker and a few other tweaks."

I was about to ask him what other tweaks he would be making, but Jonesy came over looking for food.

"Whatcha guys doing over here? The party is really going strong in the living room."

"Lars and I were just talking about...grain production at the farms."

"Aw, you don't have to be professional anymore. This is a party, come back and join us."

He led us into the small crowd just as the music turned into an upbeat techno song, so it wasn't that hard to be covered by everyone. We danced and talked until almost midnight, when Jonesy brought out some more shield potions for a toast.

"To Norah Rose, the newest and cutest inhabitant of Fortnite." Nat cheered.

"To the happy Shan family." Juan clinked his glass.

"To being there for friends and family." Jonesy gave me a nudge. "Have anything to add?"

I cleared my throat, and held up my glass.

"To the first year on the island. To everything that's happened so far, good or bad. To the first great year on Fortnite, and to the many more yet to come."

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	10. Chasing the Star

It was a warm summer's eve. I know that this introduction is a bit cliché, but it really was an evening in July. I had been sent to Anarchy Acres to check on some weird monster hunters. I should probably mention that ever since my near-death incident, rumors spread around the island that there were more monsters roaming around the island. Not many believed the rumors but the farms are pretty isolated so there wasn't anyone to tell them that this whole thing makes no sense. I drove to the fields in one of the new cars Lars finally created, parked it near the river and walked to the farm. Sure enough, there was a bunch of people crowded around a bonfire with pickaxes and torches, classic monster hunting weapons. There seemed to be a leader, a man wearing a long dark coat and hat, giving out orders in a thick country accent. I made my way to the fire and caught some of the conversation.

"...so you two are gonna go down by the river to guard them. And for the last time, remember the code names."

"Yeah, yeah. You're Deadfire, I'm Sharpside or something like that, and he's gonna be-" He stopped as I came out of the shadows, apparently I was recognized.

"Well, well, well. Look who came out of nowhere just to tell us to stop another hunt." Deadfire strutted up.

"You all know that the torches can easily burn this whole farm down, and that others are reporting you all for snooping around the woods."

"It ain't a crime to want to be safe."

"Ok then. What do I have to do to persuade you all?"

I noticed he slowly drew a six-shooter out, I felt very underprepared. All of a sudden, a girl stepped out from behind him and pushed his gun to the ground. She looked like Little Red Riding Hood met a punk band, but who am I to judge.

"Now Deadfire," she said, "I thought that the guns were for monsters only."

"Fable…"

"You know what you said. I say you put that away, and we get on with better things."

"Uh…" Was he blushing? "Fine. C'mon guys, let's pack it up."

One of the guys snickered, Deadfire shot him a look and he quickly shut up. They cleared out until it was just me and the girl. She gave me a curious look, then talked.

"Those guys are a bit too cocky when it comes to handling arguments. I promise that we won't start anything up if you promise not to catch us. You have my word."

"Thank you…"

"Fable. The name's Fable. Code name, at least. See ya."

She disappeared into the darkness, and I sighed. Ever since we tried to establish some sort of government (more on that later) to make laws, it seemed like that there were even more people trying to defy us. It's not only random people out in the woods, we've also been having a lot more arguments with each other. When we created the government there was a decision to disband what's left of the military and scrap all the 'special guns', like ARs and miniguns for metal. Nat, Martha, and Ty are all saying that we need an army or group of fighter for protection, Lars, Craig, and Jasmine are pro-government. The arguments have gotten so bad that no one will speak to each other and some people were talking about moving East, alone. I didn't take a side because we can't afford to be splitting up like this, even if they don't like the government they still have responsibilities within it. I haven't seen Jonesy for a couple days, all the pressure got to him. Since the government is sort of a democracy with a council instead of president, it can't run properly without everyone doing their part. Anyways, back to reality. I drove back to the empty factory that was serving as HQ and found almost everyone inside, sitting at the round table used for meetings. Uh oh. Did I miss an announcement or something? I was about to apologize for being late, but everyone was so deep in conversation I don't think anyone noticed me.

"...report says that it was sighted around coordinates B4 and B5…"

"...the laser went all the way up…"

"...if it wasn't standard blue then what is it…"

I shuffled over to an empty seat and tried to catch a glimpse of the maps and papers on the table. Evey map had a bunch of red arrows and circles near the northwest side of the island, the papers were just lists and lists of names.

"Oh! Ramirez! There you are!" Martha nearly jumped out of her seat and everyone else looked up.

"Hey guys. Did I miss something important?"

"It's not a crisis or anything, just a rumor that we need to check out. That reminds me…" Jasmine picked up some notes and quickly gave out orders. "Jonesy and Craig, you guys get some of those off-roaders ready. Martha, Nat, Ty, Juan, try to find some of those basic pistols. Lars, double-check all the maps and help Jonesy and Craig. Ramirez, I'll fill you in." Everyone quickly dispersed to whatever, Jasmine continued to pick up papers like she was preparing notecards for a speech.

"No offense, but the way all you guys were working doesn't make it seem like just a rumor."

"I'll admit, we got a bit too excited over this. Other than the occasional hunting party or jaywalker, there hasn't been that much for this 'government' to do. I dare say that things have gotten a bit boring around here. But here's what happening: about a day ago, a resident of Snobby Shores claimed that they saw a laser shot into the sky from a mountain."

"Sounds too good to be true."

"I know. Only Juan believes it's real, we actually have a bet with him. Loser has to pay for brunch tomorrow."

"If it all sounds fake, then why are we investigating?"

"That's the other great part. The person who saw this claims that the laser looked exactly like the storm, some kind of 'storm beam'. And you know how everyone is, myself included. If it involves the storm, it's dangerous and needs to be destroyed immediately." I understood her, I still cringe a bit whenever someone says it. Juan and Nat came back with a small box filled with pistols just as Jonesy came to tell us that the off-roaders were ready. Each one could sit two people, three if the back two didn't mind squeezing in. Thankfully the seating was all planned out, so it was an easy trip. The mountain had an interesting look, instead of having a curve like the other ones it had wide, flat ledges arranged in stair pattern. After a short climb with Ty forgetting to tie his rope tight enough and falling, we made it to the top. We spent a bunch of time searching, so I'll spare you the details: we didn't find anything. Jasmine surveyed all the rocks one last time and shrugged.

"I guess if no one else can give us actual proof of the laser then it's just a weird rumor. Juan, you know what this means…"

We all got a good laugh out of it on the drive back to HQ, by then the sun had completely set. Jonesy invited me to some late dinner and stargazing, how could I say no on a nice night like this. He picked out another great place, the very top of the small mountain near Salty Springs. We laughed and ate for almost an hour until we were both looking up at the sky, tired but still talking. Once we climbed back down the mountain, Jonesy pulled out a small box that looked like it was made of velvet. He opened the box, and my heart stopped beating.

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	11. All that we Said

The sunniest, brightest, and happiest day of her life had finally arrived. The planning went off without a hitch, everything was perfect. She had never imagined herself walking down the aisle, but today seemed like something from a dream. Choosing to forgo the classic dress, she instead wore an all-white skirt and top, keeping her military boots and dog tags for a personal touch. Everyone was already sitting down in their chairs, she snuck a peak at her husband-to-be before she had to go. He had a formal-rugged look, which is not something that is easily pulled off. Even though he was smiling, there was a bit of worry in his eyes. Her friends were lined up to the side, waiting and waiting. She heard light music begin to play, and knew it was her time. All heads turned as she floated by, she was so nasty and could barely hold on to the bouquet. Once she made it to the altar, they linked hands and gave each other nervous smiles. One of their longtime friends was officiating, he cleared his throat and began.

"Friends and family, colleagues and acquaintances. We are here today to witness the union of two brave souls, two of the leaders that have helped us all live on Fortnite, in too many ways to name. Jonesy, Ramirez, I believe you both have prepared vows."

"Yes, I have." He took a deep breath and pulled out the ring, "Ramirez, you have always been the fearless leader. When we first met in boot camp, you were the one who took charge. You never knew the word limits, always pushing everyone to be their best. But you would never leave anyone behind either. Anyone was lucky to have you as friend or partner, and now I can't believe that I'm about to be you husband. The day you said you would go out with me was the best day of my life, and it's only gotten better. With each day, every moment I spent with you, I just became more and more sure that I loved you. Through all the drama and problems, you stayed a guiding light, not just to me, but to the whole island. You've done something that sounds simple, but is one of the hardest things to do in the world: defy the odds. You've never listened to anyone that doubted you, even when that someone was nature itself. Not even the storm could stop you, the strongest and bravest woman I've ever known. Without you all these dreams wouldn't exist or have become a reality, and I want to share all my dreams with you. I dream that we'll be together, and that I can share my life with you. I love you Ramirez, for the better or worse, always and forever."

He slipped the ring on her finger, and she held back a few tears.

"Jonesy, there's a saying that behind every great man is an amazing woman. I say that it's the other way for us. Everything I have ever said or done, you have been beside me, cheering me on. No matter what ideas I come up with, be it crazy or not, you support it all. You are my shoulder to cry on, my light, my strength. No tree can grow without roots to support it, and while I may not always show it, I'm so grateful and thankful for you, my roots. At the end of each day I know you'll always be there, loving me. For who I am, who I want to be, you love me. I know that I can sometimes be the serious boss with no time for fun, but you have changed me. Everytime you make me smile or laugh, I see a whole other world. A world where everything is perfect and bright. A world filled with joy, love, and you. You've showed me a world, a paradise that I want to live in. And right now, I'm living in that world. Whenever I'm with you, I'm free. Free from sadness and everything else that brings me down. I want to always be free, to be in that paradise together. I love you Jonesy, for the better or worse."

She slid the ring on his hand, and held her breath. Their eyes met again, and they held each other's hands tighter.

"David Jonsey Bomber, do you take Valienta Ramirez Torres to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"Valienta Ramirez Torres, do you take David Jonesy Bomber to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"Then by the power vested in me, by the Fortnite Island government, I pronounce thee husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

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	12. All that we Are

I'd always thought that when I retired it would be after years of service. I would watch my grandkids play, teach them military training, bake cookies, and other grandma-ly things. Turns out it would be a lot sooner than I expected. A few months after Jonesy and I got married, the team got together and had another meeting. We decided (well, most of us) that we aren't that cut out to run the island long term. It wasn't a surprise to anyone, there were already talks among us of other people who had more government experience. After an island-wide announcement and makeshift vote, Fortnite got new and better leaders. Myself and everyone else decided to retire early, with no positions for us, there wasn't much to do. Craig and Jasmine still work at the hospital, Martha is opening her own store, everyone else is taking a break. It's been a few days, and I'm surprising myself by actually enjoying the rest. I still try to be active in the community though, a new house here and some volunteer hours at the hospital there. I didn't even mention all the schools that are starting up. As much fun as all the kids were having learning to build radios and hacking into computers (courtesy of Lars, of course) I think it'll be good for them to get a better education. I guess I've been getting a lot more concerned regarding kids since...um...it's a surprise. Well, it's not that big of a surprise since Jasmine and a few nurses know, but I still think it counts. Here it is: I'm pregnant. I've had a suspicion for a little while, but I confirmed it just last week. And no, I haven't told Jonesy yet. I know that with marriage comes telling each other pretty much everything, but I figured that he can live for a few days without knowing. Plus, I'm not sure how I should tell him. I don't know if it's a girl or a boy yet, but I've been thinking of a lot of names, staying at home not doing anything for days has its perks. So after another long day of doodling down baby names, I decided to clear my head with a "fun" book about motherhood that Jasmine kindly (cough, more like shoved into my hands, cough) let me have. Just as a got to a chapter about sharing responsibilities with the father, Jonesy walked through the door. I quickly tucked the book under a couch cushion and went to greet him.

"Honey, I'm home! Wow, that sounded worse than I thought it would."

"Jonesy! Where've you been?"

"Just shopping in Tilted Towers, nothing new. But I have some great news!"

"What?"

"Let's sit on the couch first."

After a brief kiss, my mental gears started turning. This could be the right time to tell him...but I need to plan it out. He tells me his news, I tell him, and we're both happy. Right? After what seemed like forever, he took a deep breath and started to talk.

"I got a job. A really well-paying job."

"Really? That's great! What is it?"

"I'm going to be a tester and quality control for a weapons factory."

"How did you find a job like that?"

"Well, that's the strange part. Do you remember back in training camp when you met my family?"

"I think so."

"You remember my brother, Chris?"

"Chris who-"

"Yeah. I know." All the happiness on his face immediately disappeared. In case you don't know him, here's some backstory on Chris. He was Jonesy's older brother, a bit aloof but very kind. To me, at least. From what I've been told, he and Jonesy didn't exactly have the best relationship. Anyways, Chris was in the same boot camp as us. He took the same route as Jasmine, becoming an assassin and all that. A couple of weeks before we left Stonewood, Jonesy got a message the Chris had died during a government mission. It was put off as an unknown cause, but we all knew the husks had something to do with it. Mind you that we hadn't revealed to anyone living at Stonewood that the husks were getting stronger, so we and the government didn't want to worry anyone by letting the news get out. Again, I didn't agree with them, but I'm not one to start arguments. Jonesy started speaking again and sighed.

"I...I saw him again today."

"He's alive?"

"Yes. It was so random, I was just in Tilted's bookstore when someone came up behind me and asked me if I was Jonesy. I can't believe I didn't recognize him at first, but he looks pretty different."

"Wow. I'm speechless."

"Me too. I'm happy that he's alive, but I have so many questions. Where has he been all this time? Did he come back to Stonewood and I didn't even know?"

"Jonesy…"

"I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's focus on the good news." Another sigh. "When he found me, we talked for a bit. He's got a family, house, everything. Also, he mentioned how he got a job in a weapons factory and was hoping I would take a position because of my background. He says that a lot of people on the island use guns recreationally, so there's a demand for more workers. And since money's finally going around, we're going to get paid."

"Well, I'm really proud of you. I have some news too."

"More good news? Looks like this day is already getting better."

I shifted around on the couch and thought about what I was going to say. We were going to be a family. The man I loved the most, was going to be a father. I held his hands and tried to say anything, but nothing came out. I froze. I wasn't ready. Was he even ready? He looked straight into my eyes, and I had a sudden thought. This is it. I have to say it. I'm not ready, and maybe he isn't either but we can learn. We can change for the better. Let's try this again.

"I'm pregnant." Jonesy's expression slowly changed from confusion to shock.

"You're...you're…" he stuttered, "Are..are you actually?"

"Yes!" He took his hands back and slowly covered his mouth.

"Oh. My. God. No way! You're seriously pregnant!" He wrapped me up in a hug that sent us both crashing into the couch and laughing. When we were both able to finally stop giggling, he gently laid me down and sat up.

"Well I was wrong." he laid back down and planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Hm?"

"I said that the day I met you was the best day of my life. Today has been the greatest day ever."

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	13. Waiting to Fly

Near Snobby Shores...

He dashed around his laboratory, checking all the screens on his machines and glancing down at his papers. His calculations were completely off. He had checked and double-checked, re-ran everything through his computers, but there was no denying it. He predicted that it would have taken a couple years for his laser to reach its target, but the island was approaching its second year of being inhabited and he had already sighted it in the sky. Well, he couldn't be sure that the thing was actually it, but he saw no other explanation. Everything was on course and working fine, now he just needed the perfect landing spot. Somewhere less populated, where there wouldn't be too many casualties. Somewhere empty enough to quietly construct another generator for the laser. But what if...a generator is already there? he asked himself. He abruptly stopped and began searching for a folder titled Central Generator. Inside was a lightly sketched map of the island, with photographs and diagrams of the storm shield generator at the heart of Dusty Depot. Dusty Depot, he mused. We'll just see how much of the depots are left after this.

Meanwhile...

Waking up is always the least fun part of my morning. I can get out of bed without too many problems, but stumbling around the house crabby and tired? That's where any fun that even existed ends. At least I have something to look forward to at home now. Jonesy and I are turning that one bedroom upstairs we use for storage into a room for the baby. The basement will be a lot more crowded with the extra stuff, but it's definitely worth it. Speaking of the baby, I have even more news. It's a girl! I was ecstatic when I found out, for Jonesy the feeling was mutual. Out of everyone else, Jasmine was the most excited because Nora would get to know another baby. Besides all the excitement though, I had my worries. I had never been the girliest girl when I was a kid, so I was unaware of all the dolls and hairstyles and whatever younger girls might have been interested in. I guess I was excited that I might get to teach her some tricks I've learned from the military so that she might want to look into it someday (I won't push, I'll just suggest). I'll love her no matter what she likes, but let's just say that if she wants her hair done fancy then she's gonna be in trouble. Anyways, back to today. After putting some final touches on the baby's room that I'll probably change again and waving Jonesy off to work, I finally decided to watch something on the semi-broken tv that Jonesy insisted he was able to fix. FYI, I'm never asking him for help again. I flipped through the channels until I found the news. The camera zoomed in on an anchorwoman rustling some papers.

"Welcome back to Fortnite Daily. Here's some more breaking news from the island, or should I say, above the island. We have just received a call from a witness that a meteor has been sighted in the sky." My stomach did a flip. Did she just say meteor? As in, a meteor that might hit the Earth? Not that there was much left to hit, but still. I let out a slow breath as the tv displayed close-up photos of what looked like a glowing blue ball in the sky. Okay, no need to panic, I told myself. Most of the debris burns up in the atmosphere, and even if some survives it probably wouldn't hit a small island like ours.

"Scientists have determined that there is a ninety percent chance that this meteoroid will come close to, and even hit our island."

Okay, maybe I should panic.

"While we know that this celestial body may be coming into close contact with our island, scientists our still trying to predict the size. Estimates range from twenty feet in length to over forty. In the meantime, here's our witness, who calls herself Moonwalker." A lady wearing dark sunglasses and what appeared to be an astronaut suit flashed onto the screen.

"I was doing my nightly stargazing when I saw it. At first I just thought my telescope was dirty, but no. That meteor was right there in the sky! I've never seen anything like it!"

I turned off the tv and tried to collect my thoughts. No matter how many times I replayed the anchorwoman's words inside my head or looked outside to see if it was really there (spoiler alert: it was there), I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that a rock roughly the size of a small bus was currently hurtling towards our island. Should I have been more worried? Should I have started making emergency plans? All the information was starting to make my head spin, which is not the state you want to be in when trying to focus. After taking some deep breaths and a bit of ice cream to calm down, I texted Jonesy on my storm tracker.

Did you see the news?

I just saw at work. I can't believe it.

Me neither.

I hesitated a moment before typing something else, but another message from him popped up.

Are you ok at home? How's the baby?

We're both fine. I felt her move a bit, but nothing else happened.

Ok. I have to go, but please call or text if anything happens. Promise?

Don't worry, I'll just be resting all day.

Well, have fun. I'll be home before you know it. Love you. Bye.

I turned the news back on just as the meteor story was finishing.

"In other news today, a company by the name of Epic Studios is planning to release Fortnite's first movie. There are no major details yet, but Epic Studios hints that it will be full of action and perhaps superheroes! We'll be keeping you updated as they continue to film the movie. Thank you for watching Fortnite Daily."

The tv gave a loud crackle and the screen faded to static as I sank even farther in the couch. It's funny how one moment people are talking about life-changing news, and the next they're all excited for a new movie. All I can say is that we need a distraction, from all the problems that we know will be coming.

Thanks for Reading and if you feel like it leave a Review and Creative Ideas for Future Chapters and we might use it in Future Installments

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End file.
